Lethal Pursuit
by Will Thomas
Kindle Edition, 320 pages
Expected publication: November 12th 2019 by Minotaur Books
Goodreads synopsis:
London, 1892—Cyrus Barker is brought into a game of international espionage by the Prime Minister himself in the newest mystery in Will Thomas's beloved series.
Private enquiry agents Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn receive in the mail an unexplained key stamped with the letter Q. Barker, recognizing it for what it is, uses the key to unlock an anonymous door in the alleyway, which opens to an underground tunnel leading to Downing Street.
The Prime Minister has a small task for Cyrus Barker. A Foreign Office agent stole a satchel in Eastern Europe, but was then himself murdered at Charing Cross. The satchel contains a document desperately wanted by the German government, but while the agent was killed, the satchel remains in English hands. With a cold war brewing between England and Germany, it's in England's interest to return the document contained in the satchel to its original owners and keep it out of German hands.
The document is an unnamed first century gospel; the original owner is the Vatican. And the German government isn't the only group trying to get possession of it. With secret societies, government assassins, political groups, and shadowy figures of all sorts doing everything they can—attacks, murders, counter-attacks, and even massive street battles—to acquire the satchel and its contents, this small task might be beyond even the prodigious talents of Cyrus Barker.
***
4.5 Stars
This is the second book in the Barker & Llewelyn series by Will Thomas.
This story is told from the perspective of Thomas Llewelyn in much the same way as Sherlock Holmes is told via the perspective of John Watson. Except Thomas here is much more an active part of the story. The Prime Minister wants Barker and Llewelyn wants to return a gospel thought to be what prompted Mark and Luke’s account in the Bible to be given back to the rightful owner.
Lots of people want this document for various reasons and the chase is on once Barker and Llewelyn get their hands on it. I thought the ending was quite inventive for that time in Victorian England. But I wasn’t happy about the way Barker went through with his end game. By the time the book reached its conclusion I was totally invested in Thomas, his Jewish wife who had been shunned by her family and the circumstances they found themselves in.
I am being deliberately vague since it is the journey in this book that makes it so good. If you like historical fiction set in Victorian England or just love Sherlock Holmes, I ask that you give this book a go. It is quite worth the read. I now need to go back to book one and read the saga from the beginning.
I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.
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